CAIRO — Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was defiant Tuesday amid growing pressure to back down as the deadline for a
military-imposed ultimatum approached and Morsi’s support — even within his own government — appeared to be slipping.
With only hours to go until the Wednesday deadline, Egypt was quickly hurtling toward a showdown between its powerful military and the Islamists, including Morsi, who swept to power in elections last year. Morsi’s backers in the Muslim Brotherhood have vowed that they will not go quietly if their president is forced out.
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Waving his hands and shaking his fists in a 45-minute speech on national television late Tuesday, Morsi swore that he was committed to the democratic process that brought him to power and said that any attempts to subvert the constitution were “unacceptable.”
While acknowledging that he had made mistakes during his year in office as Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Morsi appealed to Egyptians to give him more time to deal with the country’s problems.
The speech represented a direct challenge to the nation’s military and a signal that efforts to mediate the crisis have so far failed. Earlier on Tuesday, Morsi met with his defense minister, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, in an apparent bid to reach an accord.
Although Sissi was appointed by Morsi, the general’s announcement Monday afternoon that he would give the president and his opponents 48 hours to resolve their differences before the military implemented its own plan for the country was seen here as a direct threat to Morsi’s hold on power. Senior Brotherhood leaders have described the statement as “a coup.”
As night fell Tuesday, gunfire crackled along the Nile as the president’s supporters and opponents came to blows in the lower-class neighborhood of Kit Kat in central Cairo and near Cairo University, where the president’s supporters had gathered. The Associated Press reported that at least 23 people were killed, most of them outside Cairo University, and more than 200 were injured in clashes nationwide Tuesday, spawning fears that the violence will escalate.
Seven cabinet ministers have resigned in the past two days, including the foreign minister on Tuesday, according to local news media reports. A governor, a military adviser and the cabinet’s spokesman also quit their posts. The ultraconservative Salafist Nour party, which won the
second-largest bloc in parliament, distanced itself from Morsi on Tuesday, saying that it supported the protesters’ calls for early elections.
Egyptian police officers have said they will no longer protect the president or his Muslim Brotherhood backers, and protesters have pressed in closer to the palace where Morsi is thought to be staying.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, has urged Morsi to be responsive to protesters’ concerns. The White House said Obama spoke with Morsi by phone on Monday and “stressed that democracy is about more than elections; it is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country.”
military-imposed ultimatum approached and Morsi’s support — even within his own government — appeared to be slipping.
With only hours to go until the Wednesday deadline, Egypt was quickly hurtling toward a showdown between its powerful military and the Islamists, including Morsi, who swept to power in elections last year. Morsi’s backers in the Muslim Brotherhood have vowed that they will not go quietly if their president is forced out.
Massive protests in Cairo, Arizona firefighter memorial, Texas abortion rights battle, African First Ladies summit and more.
Latest stories from Foreign
Karen DeYoung Secretary of state says talk with Russia’s Lavrov yielded “narrowing down” of options on Syria conference.
Karen DeYoung N. Korean foreign minister says his nation will talk with U.S. if U.S. will end “tensions and hostility.”
David Nakamura “Your success is our success. Your failure ... ours,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu tells president.
Abigail Hauslohner Military deadline to forge compromise with opposition looms; Obama asks Morsi to be responsive to protests.
Will Englund The space program’s third failure this year might delay a cargo flight to the international space station.
Waving his hands and shaking his fists in a 45-minute speech on national television late Tuesday, Morsi swore that he was committed to the democratic process that brought him to power and said that any attempts to subvert the constitution were “unacceptable.”
While acknowledging that he had made mistakes during his year in office as Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Morsi appealed to Egyptians to give him more time to deal with the country’s problems.
The speech represented a direct challenge to the nation’s military and a signal that efforts to mediate the crisis have so far failed. Earlier on Tuesday, Morsi met with his defense minister, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, in an apparent bid to reach an accord.
Although Sissi was appointed by Morsi, the general’s announcement Monday afternoon that he would give the president and his opponents 48 hours to resolve their differences before the military implemented its own plan for the country was seen here as a direct threat to Morsi’s hold on power. Senior Brotherhood leaders have described the statement as “a coup.”
As night fell Tuesday, gunfire crackled along the Nile as the president’s supporters and opponents came to blows in the lower-class neighborhood of Kit Kat in central Cairo and near Cairo University, where the president’s supporters had gathered. The Associated Press reported that at least 23 people were killed, most of them outside Cairo University, and more than 200 were injured in clashes nationwide Tuesday, spawning fears that the violence will escalate.
Seven cabinet ministers have resigned in the past two days, including the foreign minister on Tuesday, according to local news media reports. A governor, a military adviser and the cabinet’s spokesman also quit their posts. The ultraconservative Salafist Nour party, which won the
second-largest bloc in parliament, distanced itself from Morsi on Tuesday, saying that it supported the protesters’ calls for early elections.
Egyptian police officers have said they will no longer protect the president or his Muslim Brotherhood backers, and protesters have pressed in closer to the palace where Morsi is thought to be staying.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, has urged Morsi to be responsive to protesters’ concerns. The White House said Obama spoke with Morsi by phone on Monday and “stressed that democracy is about more than elections; it is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country.”